The Beast Arises [DVD]

Little Einsteins is an interactive preschool-appropriate Disney Channel animated series from the "We're on a mission"/"We did it" school, popularized by Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer. Each episode is a learning adventure that blasts the kiddie quartet--Leo, Annie, Quincy, and June--around the world in their trusty, resourceful Rocket, which is equipped with more gadgets than a James Bond vehicle. What makes this series noteworthy is how it immerses viewers in the world of fine arts. Each of the three episodes included on this collection features a particular type of artwork, from Hawaiian Tiki statues in "The Treasure Behind the Little Red Door," making its premiere on this DVD to Chinese-cut paper in "Super Fast!". Each episode also features the music of a single composer and presents different renditions of a signature theme. Two of the episodes are scored to Rossini's {&"William Tell Overture," while "Treasure features Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," better known as the theme to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Musical terms are incorporated into the storylines, as are geographical landmarks or world monuments that the quartet encounters, such as Macchu Picchu and the Statue of Liberty. The missions are not presented as fantasy, as on The Backyardigans, which instills a little mild drama into the proceedings, as in "Treasure, in which the Little Einsteins and Rocket race to reach a treasure before their rival Big Jet does. Despite the title, there is little in these episodes of a galactic nature, but they are still a classical gas.